Episode Details

#65 | Treasure Planet 2: A Disney Crime Story

Finding a Disney movie with no sequels is a pretty tall order, so this week we drafted in a professional. James Mason PHD has an actual doctorate in Disney - making him the perfect guest to talk through the underrated 2002 sci-fi Treasure Planet - a rare misfire that was swiftly buried by the Disney corporation after its warm reviews failed to translate into box office receipts.

The long-gestating passion project of directors Ron Clements and John Musker, Treasure Planet takes Robert Louis Stevenson's classic adventure Treasure Island and reboots it in a colourful futuristic galaxy populated by robots and aliens. The film is a notable change of pace from many Disney animations, with a lack of big musical numbers and a plot that eschews traditional love interests and focuses instead on the complicated father-son relationship played out by Hawkins and the morally compromised Long John Silber.

In this episode, we discuss daddy issues, horrible Goo Goo Dolls songs and 'The Jar Jar Factor' - all of which make Treasure Planet a flawed but fascinating addition to the Disney Animated canon. We also pitch our own sequels to the movie, including a prequel that reveals the fate of Jim Hawkins' absent father, a round of recontextualised spin-offs featuring dinosaurs, mean teens and 90s sitcom stars, and what we're pretty sure would be Disney's first ever LGBT-themed part-animated murder thriller...